We had a freshwater tank for awhile and did real well with it. We are now starting up a saltwater tank. We currently have a 20gallon, but if all goes well we will definitly go much, much bigger. We have the salt in the water and it's filtering at the moment, but are wondering when can we add fish? Also, what are the levels in ammonia, PH, nitrate and nitrite that we are looking for? The hydrometer is good, just wanting to know the chemicals. Also, what fish do you recommend? Is there anything else we should know about? Thanks for your help!!!
2006-12-27 05:25:03 · 4 answers · asked by jdecorse25 5 in Pets ➔ Fish
I know it's tempting to start small and move up, but that's backwards when it comes to saltwater. The bigger, the better; small SW tanks are very difficult to maintain. You can't necessarily get all the proper equipment for a tank that small. Water conditions will vary (temp, ammonia, salinity, etc) much more easily with the small size. Most SW fish require a large tank than that.
If you can, get a bigger tank, like 50 gallons (40 gallons is the MINIMUM recommended SW tank size) and all the proper equipment. Buy a good SW book and read up on the entire process.
Anyway, it's a lot to know.
Regardless of what size tank, you need to wait 4 weeks for the cycling process to be complete. THis will give the Live Rock time to stabilize and cycle the water. During the 4 weeks you wait, buy a book and read it a couple times.
Your ammonia and nitrites should be 0 - NOT ANY HIGHER. Nitrate should be 20-30ppm.
Your water should have water conditioner, of course, and you should probably be using Reverse Osmosis water with salt/mineral additives - unless your tap water is really pure.
As for fish; gobbies, blennies and clownfish would be your best choices for a 20 gallon tank. Start with ONE (you can't have more than 2, anyway) and take it slow.
2006-12-27 06:44:14 · answer #1 · answered by Zoe 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
pH should be around 8.3, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite should be 0. Clown fish, damsels (hearty but aggressive). Add some live rock and let the tank run for a few weeks, this will run the tank thru it's nitrogen cycle. After a few weeks test the water and throw a few fish in. continue to test the water and if all goes well you can continue to add fish and corals. A good website for questions and info is reefcentral.com. Good luck!
2006-12-27 21:50:52 · answer #2 · answered by lisa h 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are in for a lot of work. There is so much to learn about saltwater tanks and fish.
start here at this link http://badmanstropicalfish.com/salt_water/introduction_to_saltwater.html
then do searches on aquariums.
I never recommend starting with a 20 gallon (40 plus would be my choice) they are too small and require much more work than a larger tank.
Your Tank needs to cycle before you add fish, but you didnt say what is in the tank. Is it a bare tank? or are you going to have live rock in it? (live rock can be the primary filtering mechanisim.) You need to cycle for at the very least 1 month and some saltwater tanks take multiple months to completly cycle.
Good luck
2006-12-27 14:16:06 · answer #3 · answered by smkwtrjck 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get yourself some good books on salt water tanks. Lots of circulation and some live rock are the way to start. Wait 3-4 weeks before putting anything else in there.
2006-12-27 18:41:59 · answer #4 · answered by Johnny 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋